


Secret Lullaby

by Stormraven24



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: ALL THE FLUFF, Fluff, M/M, hitaka, rot your teeth out of your head fluff, sugary fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 13:05:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8057557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stormraven24/pseuds/Stormraven24
Summary: Hux discovers a weakness he never knew he had in a hidden talent of a subordinate.





	Secret Lullaby

**Author's Note:**

> darthlenaplant and I were talking about this ship on Tumblr and she mentioned Mitaka singing Hux to sleep. So....here ya are! I hope you (and everyone else reading) like it :)

Not for the first time, Hux found himself immensely glad for the foresight to have a tracker installed in Millicent's microchip. Although a finite space, the _Finalizer_ was still a massive ship with all manner of nooks and gaps big enough for a feline to slip through and get lost. He may have been a stone-faced hardass, but Hux wasn't enough of a monster to simply let his beloved cat suffer that fate. 

He followed the blinking red dot on his datapad, curious where the cat could have gotten to this late in the sleep cycle. He didn't know where he'd expected to be led to, but the officer's lounge on deck K15 wasn't on the hypothetical list. Hux's brow furrowed; this lounge was closed and locked down by this time (the one nearer to the bridge remained open for those working third and fourth shifts). How in blazes did she get in there?

Well, Hux wasn't a fan of mysteries, and this was an easy one to solve. The door earned itself a scowl when it opened as he approached (what lazy idiot didn't lock that door like they were supposed to?). The scowl disappeared entirely when a soft noise reached his ears. It wasn't the ambient sound of the ship. This was something organically rhythmic, not mechanical. Almost...lyrical...

It wasn't the sight of Starkiller Base in the lower corner of the viewport that rendered the general breathless, at least not on its own. It was what was bathed in the starlight that did.

A young man was sat on the port ledge, legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankle. He was looking out at the stars, but his hands were occupied with a suspiciously familiar lump of orange hair curled up on his thighs. Millicent was as relaxed and comfortable as Hux had ever seen her, something that drove the briefest flash of jealousy through him. The feeling was quickly drowned out by something close to awe when the man turned his head away from the endlessness of space to focus on the heavily purring feline.  _Lieutenant Mitaka?_

True, Hux didn't make it a habit to associate with his subordinates outside of work hours, but he couldn't help wondering how the soft-spoken officer in a pristine uniform was the same man he saw before him now. Hair loose and slightly tousled, clothes comfortably loose, feet bare...smiling. And he was singing.

The words weren't anything Hux recognized, a language he did not know, but they were less important than how melodious Mitaka's voice sounded in the stillness of the empty lounge. His words rumbled on low notes before rising to higher ones, a mix of sunlight and stormy skies. 'Enchanting' wasn't a word normally in Hux's vocabulary, but that was the only one that fit what he was seeing and hearing at the moment.

A break in the soothing song had Millicent rolling onto her back, her way of demanding her belly be rubbed. Mitaka obliged with a smile that made something catch in Hux's chest. How had someone so gentle and... _angelic_ ...survived the Academy? Was this really the same man who coded and oversaw all manner of weaponry not only on the  _Finalizer_ but on Starkiller as well? Could that Mitaka have a twin brother instead?

All thought froze when Millicent, stretching her front legs out as Mitaka lightly scratched over her ribs, caught sight of Hux standing just to the side of the door and meow'd her greeting at him. That beautiful song stuttered to a halt when Mitaka followed her line of sight, his fathomless eyes going wide in recognition. He tried to stand without rudely dislodging his lap's occupant, utterly failing at both. “General Hux, sir!”

Hux raised a hand before stepping towards him. “As you were, lieutenant.” Seeing the tension in Mitaka's expression and shoulders, Hux tried to make himself as non-intimidating as possible.  _Easier said than done,_ his mind oh-so-helpfully supplied. “Having trouble sleeping?” It took more effort than he wanted at the moment to force the command out of his voice.

One slim shoulder lifted and fell in a half-hearted shrug. “Just a little, sir.” Both men looked away from each other as the awkward silence grew, Hux unsure if he would be welcome to sit with his subordinate, Mitaka worried about...everything. Millicent, however, was more concerned with the fact that there were now two potential head-scratchers nearby yet neither of them was doing any head-scratching. She quickly righted herself in Mitaka's lap and bumped her head against his arm. The dark-haired man smiled softly down at her before complying with her silent demand for attention. “Apologies, sir,” he whispered when he saw how Hux how was looking at him. “She seems to have claimed me as a temporary companion and I haven't the heart to send her away.”

“Good,” Hux said firmly as he steeled himself and sat down on the viewport ledge at Mitaka's feet. “Because she would have left you with a painful reminder of how poorly she handles rejection if you tried.” He stroked her arching back fondly for a few moments...then stopped suddenly when his hand brushed Mitaka's. The contact was fleeting, barely enough to warrant a reaction at all, yet Hux felt as if all the oxygen in the room had suddenly vanished. At least he didn't seem to be the only one affected, not if the reddening of the lieutenant's cheeks was any indication; whether that was good thing or a bad thing, he didn't know yet. Deciding that a change of subject was in order to stave off another awkward silence, Hux asked, “What was the song you were singing just now?”

The flush on Mitaka's face deepened until Hux was sure he could feel the heat radiating from his skin. “It was nothing, sir,” he said quietly as he shifted in his seat. “Just an old tune from home.”

As endearing and utterly charming as the younger man looked, blushing and fidgeting like a teenager, Hux found he couldn't keep his eyes on him. Such a sight was too pure, too innocent to be looked at for too long. Especially when his next words slipped from his mouth without his brain's permission: “You have a beautiful voice, Mitaka.”

Silence fell between them, heavy and almost oppressive with its weight. Had he said the wrong thing? Had he offended or humiliated the other man? When he could bear the silence no more, Hux tentatively glanced at Mitaka. The glittering eyes and shy smile he was greeted with was breathtaking. “Thank you, sir.” Those dark eyes looked down to Millicent, who had curled herself up once again. “It's good enough for this one, at least.”

The quiet that descended this time was more comfortable, more at ease. Hux liked it, but there was something else that he was sure he'd like better. “If it's not an imposition,” he began carefully, “would you sing another song?”

A soft yet quick inhale of breath drew Hux's gaze back to Mitaka. The lieutenant seemed eager to show off his hidden talent, but still bashful about performing for someone not covered in fur and purring in his lap. “No imposition at all, sir.” His bottom lip disappeared between his teeth as he considered his choices.

As soon as the first dulcet notes of his song began, Hux immediately felt calm, soothed. What an interesting effect this man had on him. He leaned back against the durasteel behind him and closed his eyes; without any visual distraction the foreign words and gentle melody seemed to gain power. They washed over him, lulling him closer and closer to sleep. The fact that he wasn't in bed, but in an abandoned lounge with a subordinate and a happily purring feline was something to worry about later. Right now, all that mattered was the caress of Mitaka's voice over his soul.

~ ~ ~ ~

Hux was tired. No, that was too weak a word. He was beyond tired and into the realm of exhausted. He'd been running on fumes in the last days of Starkiller's construction, desperate to meet his deadlines and keep everything in line and in check. His patience, already a limited thing, was almost non-existent now. He'd snapped at several officers and technicians for the pettiest of reasons (this one moved his hands too much while talking, that one couldn't stop worrying a spot on her wrist). He'd resigned himself to his office before he said or did something irreparable, and there he'd been for the past five hours.

He'd tried reading the same sentence on one of his open datapads for the fourth time when the quiet hiss of his door opening broke the monotony. He had no time for visitors, no desire to delay his creation's birth any longer than absolutely necessary. “Whatever it is, leave it on my desk and show yourself out,” he ordered without looking up.

An exasperated huff left his lips when the footsteps didn't stop at his desk. “I said you are dismissed-”

Anything else he was going to lash out with died on his tongue when he looked up at the intruder. Mitaka stood only a few paces away, that gentle smile he reserved only for his general on his face. He didn't give Hux a chance to recover; he carefully pried the datapad from his hands, setting it down on the desk, and taking Hux's hands in his.

Then he started to sing.

“Phel,” Hux breathed, tired but not unkind as Mitaka tugged him out of his chair. “You're not playing fair.”

The lieutenant just grinned, dark eyes sparkling, and continued his song. Hux had no choice but to follow when Mitaka started walking backwards, towards Hux's bedroom. The younger man kept singing even as he divested the other of his outer clothes. Only when he guided Hux to sit on the bed to pull off his boots did Hux realize just how much he needed sleep. It was a struggle to keep his eyes open. “How dare you use my one weakness against me, lieutenant.”

Mitaka simply smiled at the admonishment. He paused his song just long enough to rid himself of his own coat, boots, and pants, then pushed Hux down to lay his head on the pillow. That wonderful, glorious voice softened as he climbed into bed beside his general. Hux closed his eyes, allowing himself to be pulled into Mitaka's warm embrace. Moving his head to his lover's chest, the steady thump of Mitaka's heart and the rumbling vibrations of his voice lulled Hux closer and closer to sweet slumber.

The final straw, the last thing he remembered, was the tender combing of his hair with gentle fingers. _All right, two weaknesses._

 

**Author's Note:**

> I was picturing Mitaka singing ["Mi Mancherai (Il Postino)"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJwNS-FPXOI) and ["L'Ultima Notte"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ_hI2LSQ4I) in the lounge. Both are beautiful songs about love and loss, and I just adore them and the idea of Mitaka singing them makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :3 
> 
> I also "borrowed" Mitaka's nickname from [White_Rainbow's fics](http://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Rainbow/works) because it just fits so well and I love it <3


End file.
